Second Life provides a unique and flexible environment for educators interested in distance learning, computer supported cooperative work, simulation, new media studies, and corporate training. Second Life provides an opportunity to use simulation in a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practice skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes. The ability to prepare for similar real-world experiences by using Second Life as a simulation has unlimited potential! Read more
Issue #11 of the SL magazine, KONSTRUKT, is devoted to education
Virtual marketers have second thoughts about Second Life Second Life a three-dimensional online society where publicity is cheap and the demographic is edgy and certainly computer-savvy should be a marketer's paradise. But it turns out that plugging products is as problematic in the virtual world as it is anywhere else. At www.secondlife.com where the cost is $6 a month for premium citizenship shopping, at least for real-world products, isn't a main activity. Four years after Second Life debuted, some marketers are second-guessing the money and time they've put into it.
"There's not a compelling reason to stay" - Brian McGuinness, vice president of Aloft.
A bed which allows residents of the virtual world Second Life to have sex is at the centre of the first known case to be brought in virtual copyright. A Florida-based businessman who sells the bed inside Second Life claims another man has copied his creation, and is now bringing an action against his competitor in the real world, even though the bed is not real. Kevin Alderman runs a company called Eros LLC, which makes adult entertainment goods. One of Eros's most popular products is a piece of virtual furniture called the SexGen bed, which allows users of Second Life to have their online characters - known as avatars - interact intimately with one another.
Second Life chairman's stump speech takes us down the rabbit hole. If you're the least bit interested in the potential of 3D virtual worlds to take over our waking hours (as they were projected to in various cyberpunk opuses) I think you'll find the following pretty interesting, or at least provocative..
The Korean National Tax Service has announced they will be tacking on value added tax (VAT) to real-money transactions (RMT) in virtual worlds beginning 1 July. It seems like a business that would be fairly easy to take under the radar to avoid paying taxes, but I'm not a tax professional.
NASA has created two islands in the popular real-time virtual world called Second Life, where anyone interested in space travel or technology can explore, discover and contribute to the space agencys mission. One island, called CoLab, for the Collaborative Space Exploration Laboratory, was established in 2006 by the NASA Ames Research Centre in Californias Silicon Valley as a virtual learning community with interactive content. Nearby is Explorer Island, established this year by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology. JPL is the lead U.S. centre for robotic exploration of the solar system.
What is SLurl? SLurl provides direct teleport links to locations in Second Life. If you have Second Life installed, clicking on the map link will automatically teleport you to that location in-world.
Why use SLurl? In addition to allowing customized control over mapping locations in Second Life, SLurl also provides a better experience for web users who don't have Second Life. Instead of getting an error when clicking on web links that begin with "secondlife://", visiting a SLurl link gives potential new users a chance to sign up.
Ancient! Contemporary! Futuristic! Second LifeŽ? Famed archaeological site and finalist towards becoming a new seventh world wonder, Chichen-Itza, will be making its debut in the virtual world, Second LifeŽ (SL) on June 10, 2007 at 1:00 pm PTD, featuring a seven hour music showcase.